A/N: "Mothers and stepmothers have only one thing in common. Love for their children and their children's father."

DISCLAIMER: SVU and characters belong to Dick Wolf. TStabler© owns this story.

Olivia woke to the sound of her cell phone blaring. She groaned and reached for it, wondering who would be calling in the middle of the night, especially since she had taken her maternity leave. She looked down at it, then she sat up.

"Who is it?" Elliot grumbled beside her, his hands caressing her body and her belly.

"Kathy," she said, her voice both curious and annoyed.

Elliot popped his head up, then. "Don't answer. My mother told me she's been trying to find ways to tell us what she knows about the babies."

"Is there something wrong with…"

"No, baby," he interrupted, assuring her. "Kathy saw the unedited ultrasound photos. She's trying to…"

Olivia scoffed and rolled her eyes, dropping the phone back to the end table. "Really? She is really upset that we wanna wait, isn't she?"

"More upset that she was when I handed her signed divorce papers," he said, kissing the side of her neck. "How do you wake up smelling so good?"

She laughed and linked her fingers with his on her bump. "Could be the shower I took last night, or the fact that your mother washes these sheets every day."

"I'm glad she does," he said, nipping at her shoulder. "If she knew the things we do in this bed every night, she'd burn them instead of washing them."

She laughed a bit louder, rolling toward him. "I'm pregnant, El," she said. "Your mother obviously knows…"

"She doesn't know how often, or how crazy we get," he said, cutting her off and running his tongue over her collar bone. "How crazy you make me," he whispered.

She moaned, dropping her head back to let him suck on her neck the way he clearly wanted to. "You drive me crazy, too, ya know."

He chuckled as he left a small mark on her neck. "I love you," he whispered.

She turned to him more fully, moving her lips to his. "I love you," she whispered into his mouth.

He moved his hand, lower down her body, almost reaching between her legs, when his phone rang. He rolled his eyes, kissed Olivia once more, and then reached over her to look at his phone. "Jesus," he hissed, answering it. "What, Kathy?"

He only let her get a few words out before hanging up on her. "Damn it," he spat, "One more second and she would have told me. She has nerve, man," he griped, shaking his head. He dropped the phone then sighed, looking at Olivia. "That kinda killed the mood."

"Yeah, well, if it didn't, this would," she said, sitting up and moving the blanket. "I have to pee. Your children are using my bladder as a trampoline."

He laughed and said, "They take after me. They love to work out."

She rolled her eyes and chuckled. "We're both a couple of gym rats," she said, padding into the bathroom, not bothering to cover up as he was the only one in the room.

He sighed and leaned back on the bed, shaking his head as she moved, briefly hating the fact that he had to go to work without her for the first time in years. As he watched her come back from the bathroom, her naked and pregnant form coming toward him, he lost the negative thoughts, feeling nothing but love, pride, and gratuity.

She saw the look in his eyes and she crawled into the bed, curling into him and kissing him deeply. "I don't know what you're looking at," she said, "But it must be nice."

"I was looking at you, baby," he said with a smirk, pulling her close. "Go back to sleep. I have to be at work in two hours, and I wanna hold you as long as possible before I have to deal with Cassidy."

She laughed and kissed him. "He's happily married now," she said. "And he's a father. I doubt he's…"

"He's still fucking annoying," Elliot said, mumbling as he nestled into her neck. He was asleep in moments, the woman he loved in his arms and his two young lives nestled safely between them.

She fell asleep to his comforting caresses, too, feeling as content as he was. She didn't know what the morning would bring, but she knew she'd be able to face it.

"Bernie," Olivia called from the living room, trying to get up off of the cushy couch. "I told you I would do that, you don't have to…"

"You are not moving from that spot," Bernie yelled back at her. "I have this under control. You shouldn't be inhaling the cleaning spray anyway, Olivia. You just sit there and relax."

Olivia rolled her eyes. "I can't do that," she growled, restless. "I hate not being there."

Bernie dropped the spray and her rag, and she walked into the living room. "Honey, I'm sure he's fine."

"I'm not really worried about him, Bern. He can take care of himself, I know he can. I just…I need to be doing something, I need to be there with him, just in case…"

"Not really worried about him, you say?" Bernie interrupted with a chuckle.

"Okay, maybe a little," Olivia laughed. "It's really just my inability to sit still. I have to work, Bernie, I can't…"

Bernie held up a hand. "Well, for the next five weeks, you have to stay off of your feet and let those babies grow big and healthy."

"I don't want them to get too big," she said, raising an eyebrow.

Bernie laughed and said, "I could tell you stories, dear. Elliot was not a small baby."

"He's not a small man," Olivia said with a small laugh. "Not much has changed."

"Has he ever told you that we thought he was twins?" Bernie asked, smirking. "That's how large he was. So I know a thing or two about delivering big babies. Your body will be able to handle it, and it'll be worth it the minute they put those precious little ones in your arms."

Olivia laughed and said, "Thank you, Bernie."

"Honey, when are you going to start calling me 'Mom?" Bernie asked, folding her arms.

"Oh, uh," Olivia was stunned, speechless. She'd never given it a thought. The only mother she'd ever known had ruined her, destroyed her. She didn't want to give Bernie such a negative name when she'd been nothing but positive for her. "Well, do you want me to?" she asked, biting her lip and rubbing the bump of her belly, trying to sooth the babies who were just as restless as she was.

Bernie looked at Olivia and she sighed with a smile. "I would love nothing more, Olivia." She sat down beside her and took her hand. "From the moment you walked into his life, the moment he told me all about how you changed him, I knew one day I would think of you as a daughter. That day…when you came to find me, to help Katie, that was when it happened. You were family then."

Olivia's eyes watered and she sniffled. "Bern…Mom?" she said, more like a testing question. "Really?"

Bernie was on the verge of tears herself. "Honest to God."

Olivia shifted and struggled, but moved to give Bernie a hug, holding in her tears. She squeezed Elliot's mother tightly and her eyes looked toward the ceiling. She said a silent thank you, along with a silent apology, to her mother. She knew somehow her mother had given her what she had, and who she had, and was responsible for the new love and new family she had. It was her way of making up for the life she'd given Olivia.

Their emotion riddled hug was interrupted by a knock on the door, a ring of the doorbell, and the shout of Kathy's voice. "Hello?"

Bernie grunted as she pulled away from Olivia. "I'll get it," she said, "And I will make her go away."

Olivia nodded and laughed, wiping her eyes and sniffling. "Okay, Mom," she said, winking at the woman.

Bernie waited a moment, her hand over her heart, and she got up to answer the door. She pulled it open and asked, "What do you want, Kathy? Please, don't even…"

"Are they home?" Kathy asked, pushing her way in with the baby carrier in her hands. "I want to know if they liked the gifts."

Bernie sighed. "Elliot is at work, Olivia is right there, they haven't opened yours yet."

"Well, why not?" Kathy asked, looking at Olivia.

Olivia shifted and sat up straight. "Because you know what we're having, and we don't want to know."

Kathy smirked. "Oh, you mean you still haven't found out that you're having…"

Olivia held up a hand and shot her a glare. "Listen to me, Kathy, I know you hate me. I know you're not happy with the way things have happened, but please, if any part of you still loves Elliot, you will leave this alone, and you will let him get the surprise he wants."

"Don't you get it, Olivia?" Kathy asked with a sigh. "It's because I love him that I can't let him have this. Not with you." She narrowed her eyes and said, "You have to buy my silence."

Olivia sighed and closed her eyes. "How much is it gonna take to get you to shut up?"

"Are you…are you doing this?" Kathy asked, placing the baby carrier with Taylor sleeping inside on the coffee table. She folded her arms.

Olivia scooted and fought her way to her feet. "Give me an amount, Kathy. What's it gonna take for you to stop trying to ruin this for him?"

Kathy thought for a moment, trying to figure out why Olivia had agreed so quickly. "You don't have enough money," she said. "Elliot would know if…"

"I've got money," Olivia said, cutting her off. "My mother…there's more than enough in the account. Elliot will never have to know."

"Ten thousand dollars," Kathy said with a grin. "That's it. And you're telling me that you're willing to part with that to keep this a secret for him? Seriously?"

Olivia put a hand on her back as she walked toward the locked end table by the door. She grabbed her keys off of the hook and slipped a tiny silver key into the lock, opening it. She pulled out her checkbook and she said, "You want it made out to 'cash' or should I…"

"You're actually gonna do this?" Kathy asked, shocked, interrupting.

Olivia had tears in her eyes again. She looked at Kathy, and she shrugged. "If that's what it takes, Kathy. I love him, more than you could possibly ever know, and I will do anything to give him what he wants."

Kathy stood in silence, taking in the sight of a very pregnant Olivia, almost crying, ready to sign away a good chunk of money to keep a secret that she didn't think was that important. "Put it away," she said softly. "I can't take money from you, I just…I wanted to see if…"

"You wanted to see if I would do it?" Olivia asked, shaking her checkbook. "I will. Damn it, Kathy, he doesn't want to know! These are my first…I don't wanna know, but if it'll make you feel better to tell me, then do it! Just don't tell him!"

Kathy saw the tears rolling down Olivia's cheeks. "I…I'm sorry…I didn't think you were that…"

"You should leave now," Bernie said, her voice firm. "If you are finished working her into a fit, Kathy, and you have your answer, you need to go."

Kathy licked her lips and nodded. She picked up the carrier and she said, "You love him more than I thought you did."

"He's my life, Kathy," Olivia said, dropping the checkbook into the drawer. "He has been, for years, even before he told me how he felt. I've always loved him, and I've always done whatever I could to keep him and the kids safe and happy." She wiped her eyes and sniffled. "I even talked him out of signing the papers, twice, when it was you who wanted to…"

"He never told me that," Kathy said, sounding shocked. "You…you wanted him, Olivia, you would have had him sooner if…"

"Do you get it now?" Olivia interrupted, folding her arms over her belly. "It didn't matter how much I wanted him, I wanted him to be happy. That's all that has ever mattered to me."

Kathy bit her lip and nodded, heading for the door. "You deserve him, then," she said, leaving. "Because even when we were married, you were the only thing that really made him happy." She nodded once, and then she was gone.

Bernie closed the door and looked at Olivia. "You were really going to pay her, weren't you?"

"I knew she'd back down," Olivia said, shrugging.

Bernie smirked. "But if she didn't you…"

"Don't tell Elliot," Olivia said, walking away from Bernie and heading for the stairs. "I'm gonna lay down, Mom."

Bernie watched her walk up, and her heart swelled. "Serena, I wish you could see her now," she mumbled. She headed back toward the kitchen to finish cleaning, hoping that she would never have to tell Olivia that she knew her mother, or how well.

A/N: Were Bernie and Serena friends? How? And does Elliot find out about what Kathy has done? Review here or on Twitter: TMG212